Try to focus on the spiritual essence of Christmas

by Msgr. Jim Lisante, director of The Christophers

So, are you ready for Christmas?

Lights and decorations up - both inside and outside your home? Thorough house cleaning done? And did I mention presents - all bought and wrapped, of course, for everyone you really should remember? Cards written and mailed?

OK, most of us haven’t done most of these things yet. But we are starting to think about them and get just a little nervous. What we call holiday spirit too often turns into a gnawing feeling that something on our inexhaustible and exhausting "to do" list has been neglected, combined with a sense of busyness without accomplishment and obligations without satisfaction. And just why are we going to so much trouble anyway?

I have an antidote to offer. It’s called Advent. If your first thought is, "Great, one more thing to worry about!" I can’t blame you. Still, what I think you can find by appreciating and, yes, celebrating Advent is a way to worry less. I’m not foolish enough to promise an anxiety-free time, because we humans can always manage to worry.

We already talk about making preparations for Christmas and that’s really what Advent is. The word means coming and this is the time we get ready for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. "When is the blessed event?" is a question that is still asked about a baby’s birth. Well, Christmas is the blessed event. It’s a time of hope and anticipation, joy and wonder. It’s also a time of change.

Welcoming a baby to the family can mean rethinking attitudes and habits. And faith itself can be increasingly important, not only in terms of the child, but of your relation with this new life - and our own mortality. Advent invites us to contemplate Jesus in time and eternity, in His coming two thousand years ago and His coming into our hearts today.

What I suggest is that you take a few minutes daily to pray, to read from the bible or other spiritual material - not to add one more thing to your schedule, but as a respite for your too-often neglected soul. And while you’re at it, you and your family could reconsider some of the things you always do for the holidays. Traditions are meant to bind us closer to the past and each other, not strangle us.

I’ve heard many people over the years complain about feeling let-down after the holiday season. Part of that is the result of having fewer activities to distract us. But I believe there is something else. If we focus on the spiritual essence of Christmas, instead of the secular trimmings, we will enter the new year with something gained, something more. After looking forward to Jesus’ coming, we can rejoice in knowing that He is here: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon His shoulders; and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

Happy Advent!